Friday liveblog, several hours early (signings)

Bridgeport announced three signings this afternoon, so we’ll get the post started early and continue it later with game stuff. Under AHL contracts for next season: Mike Dalhuisen of Quinnipiac, discussed Tuesday; Riley Wetmore of UMass Lowell, former Scott Campbell teammate; and Cornell’s Greg Miller, whose Big Red bio says he’s the first three-time scoring leader there since some guy named Matt Moulson.

Wetmore — assigned No. 2 for this evening, though that may not be permanent — is expected to play tonight on an amateur tryout.

It’s been a pretty wild past 14 hours or so, since it became clear that last night’s MIT shooting turned into a fire- fight and explosives-fight between police and two suspects. RIP, Sean Collier, and may everyone else up there be well. What an incredible night. Horrifying, mind-boggling, and hopefully ending peacefully soon. Though if you see a green Honda Civic, 116GC7, maybe call the cops.

Assorted or accumulated links: Jeremy Colliton, Trent Hunter, Travis Brigley and the Bentley Generals play in the Allan Cup semifinals tonight at 10 Eastern. The final is Saturday at 7:30. Tyler Johnson is AHL MVP. The Rochester Americans will play in next season’s Spengler Cup in Switzerland; second time they’ve done that, first since 1996. A nice story on Nic Blanchard and the aftermath of the Albany bus crash. Neat infographic in motion of Kepler’s planets.

Wishart remains on the board but apparently isn’t going to take warmup. Splits up DeFazio-Campbell-Riley for the first time in a long time. Best indication is Wishart is just a healthy scratch, with the younger guys sticking around and Landry getting back in.

–It’s pointed out from up there that Mark Louis’ apparent first pro goal from Tuesday was taken away from him today and given to Ethan Werek on the ricochet. Tough one.

–Sounds like a pretty strong start for Bridgeport, except for a post that Mathieu Brodeur hit that was apparently the hardest-struck shot in the history of hockey. Shots on the sheet are 8-0 Bridgeport at 5:30.

–Bridgeport keeps the pressure up through nine minutes before Riley hooks Shinnimin in the offensive zone: Portland power play at 9:29.

–Sound Tigers kill it off despite late Portland chances and a blocked shot that hurts Ness.

–Bridgeport also kills off a McIver minor for a hit on Miele. Ness is back, as apparently a Werek shot hit him.

–No score after one despite a 12-3 Bridgeport shots edge. (It may be 11-4. Differing reports. Like there are from Boston, too.) Manchester and Binghamton are tied after one as well. Hershey trails 1-0 after one. The Whale and Albany are tied. Norfolk is just underway in Syracuse.

–Helped by a Matt Donovan cross-checking minor 38 seconds into the second, Portland has been all over Bridgeport early, just about evening up the shots edge about five minutes in. Still scoreless, though.

–Syracuse leads Norfolk 3-0. Whale just took a lead on Albany.

–Deja vu. With Sinkewich in the box, Donovan has a goal disallowed for, apparently, incidental contact with Visentin, because there’s no penalty called. The Portland radio guys can’t believe it; Chris Roy saw interference. Either way, no goal.

–Sounds like both goalies are putting on a show in the second. Speaking of goalies, Nathan Lawson was injured tonight; Marc Cheverie is on against Manchester. They’re tied in the second. The Whale and Albany are tied after two.

–It’s scoreless after two. Portland had cut the shots edge to 13-11 at one point, but Bridgeport finishes on a 6-2 run to make it 19-13. Of course the one that didn’t count is the killer right now. Hershey meanwhile ties Adirondack late in the second period.

–The Pirates’ color guy is worked up about the no-goal. He doesn’t get it.

–Evan Brophey scores as Sundstrom gets knocked down, lifting a backhander short side from the left. 1-0 Portland at :58 of the third.

–There’s time, but the scores continue to drift against Bridgeport. Manchester’s up early third. The… well, Strome scores at 7:02 to tie it off a Pedan blocked shot. The Sound Tigers still need help, but it’s 1-1 in Portland.

–With 8:23 to go, Brown comes up the right side and scores after the puck gets past Donovan at the left point. It’s 2-1 Portland. Albany beat the Whale 3-2, but Bridgeport needs at least a point to stay in the race.

–With 1:16 left, Jon Landry given a charging major for running into Visentin with 1:16 left. My audio feed’s well behind real time, apparently, because there’s a Brown empty-netter already on Twitter with 15 seconds left. 3-1 Portland, and that’ll do it.

—Portland 3, Bridgeport 1, final. The Sound Tigers are eliminated.

–With Norfolk losing big, I think they may’ve stayed alive had they won (but not with an OTL). Water under the bridge.

–Not surprisingly, Scott Pellerin wasn’t happy with the no-goal call. Took away the momentum, he thought, after they dominated the first and regrouped after Portland’s push early in the second. A tough night, a tough result, where some things could have gone their way; “We needed to make that second play,” he said. “Finish off an offensive chance, or save a chance against. We weren’t able to recover from that, which was kind of disappointing.” But they gave him all they had. Wasn’t enough.

He thought Wetmore “fit in well. On a line with Campbell and Riley, he made his adjustments. He played with a lot of energy. He complemented our group.”

A fascinating night around this little race: Four teams go into Saturday tied with 79 points. The Whale have just one game left, at Portland tomorrow before the Pirates come here. Hartford would have tiebreakers on Hershey and Norfolk if they stayed tied, but that’s not entirely in the Whale’s hands anymore. Manchester, Norfolk and Hershey all control their own destinies, in for sure with two wins (because they can’t all do that, with the Bears and Monarchs meeting each other Sunday at Giant Center).

Providence locked up the top seed in the East with its win, then secured first overall when Texas lost to Houston. Syracuse and Binghamton have a division to sort out, and they have to jostle with Springfield for second. A win against Manchester will lock up fifth for Wilkes-Barre, or else they’re waiting out Portland’s last couple of games for sixth. Bridgeport can finish 11th or 12th, catchable only by Albany. It’s meaningless math, though. The closest thing Bridgeport has to playoffs right now is Dallas Jackson, who had a power-play goal for Gwinnett and was a plus-1 in the Gladiators’ series-opening loss to Cincinnati. (The Big Club has a chance to do something about that postseason stuff in the near future.)

In the end, though, and most importantly. hurray for the good guys in Beantown. May they sleep well tonight.